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Theater Arts Major

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Student sews a costume in the theater arts program.
Overview
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Degrees Offered
Bachelor of Arts
school/college
College of Arts and Sciences
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Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts

The Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts is a vibrant degree path that affords you opportunities for immersion in theater across a range of approaches—technical theater, playwriting, stage management, directing, applied theater, education, and any combination of these fields you can imagine.

Capitalizing on Arcadia’s liberal arts mission, small class sizes, and emphasis on global education, a BA in Theater Arts prepares you for a world of artistic possibilities. Plus, proximity to Philadelphia’s active theater community provides you opportunities to connect with industry professionals and to pursue internships and other professional work.

All performance classes, program activities, and auditions for Arcadia Theater productions are open for you to participate in. The flexibility of the major allows you to take full advantage of all that Arcadia has to offer—add a minor or double major, study abroad, and more!

Explore a Typical Course Path to Graduation

STUDENT OUTCOMES

Hands-On Opportunities

Students get direct experience as writers, designers, technicians, stage managers, and performers through our Arcadia Theater productions and several student performing groups.

You have the opportunity to complete an internship—often with a professional theater company in the Philadelphia area or in your own community. Your degree culminates in an original capstone project that brings your personal passions to life.

Study Abroad

Theater Arts students have pursued a range of eye-opening and world-expanding study abroad opportunities in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Italy, and many other destinations. These programs open our students’ minds to a world of learning and growth.

Featured Courses

Playwriting

Required Course

Learn the fundamentals of playwriting and helps students develop their voices as dramatic writers. You will read and respond to one another’s work, and learn through revision and working with critical feedback.

You and other students will bring stories to the stage. Hear and see your work read by others in a writing lab.

 

Lighting Design

One of three options for required course in theatrical design

A hands-on introduction to the art of lighting design for the theater: from the reading and analysis of a script, through the design process and a completed production. Students will develop a sense of how lighting contributes to the audience’s understanding of a play, learn about the theories and concepts that inform lighting design, work with the various kinds of lighting instruments. Learn how light shapes audience perception, sculpts theatrical space and serves  a theatrical production. 

Theater and the Global Majority

Required Course

Investigate non-Western theatrical histories, performance practices and dramatic texts from across the globe, focusing on communities of color in the US and abroad. We read and discuss play scripts, watch and analyze performances on video (or live performances, if and when the opportunity arises).Introduces students to theater from around the world, in keeping with Arcadia’s emphasis on global education and mission of combating anti-Black racism.

Stage Management

Required Course

Embark on a thorough introduction to all phases of stage management: pre-production, rehearsal period, tech/running, and calling a show. Learn to work in all kinds of venues, from small storefront theaters to large regional theaters. You will gain practical experience working with Arcadia Theater mainstage productions.

Students work alongside professional guest designers and directors as they stage manage program productions.

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